Leveraging the Lobbyist Scandal

For a congressional candidate, a presidential visit during campaign season is a sought-after opportunity reserved for those who really need it. So midterm watchers were surprised to hear that President George W. Bush would travel to northeastern California this week to raise an estimated $500,000 for Republican incumbent Representative John Doolittle. Doolittle hasn't won less than 60% of the vote since 1992, and Republicans outnumber Democrats 48% to 30% in his district. So why spend valuable time and fund-raising muscle on a man who should be a sure thing? One simple answer: Jack Abramoff.

Conventional wisdom holds that the Abramoff...

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